(Youre the) Devil in Disguise - Elvis Presley

> **You look like an angel, walk like an angel, talk like an angel, but I got _wise_... Youre the devil in disguise!**

In the summer of 1963, **Elvis Presley** wore his crown high, but the reign was thick with a much-needed change of habit. On June 18, RCA dropped (Youre the) Devil in Disguise, a single that roared to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became his biggest hit of the year. Recorded at the May 26-28 session at RCA Studio B in Nashville, TN, its the crown jewel of a session that promised more than it delivered. **Grady Martin**s lead guitar cuts like lightning, and Elvis' vocalplayful, assured, brimming with humornails the songs tale of a deceptive lover. Paired with the B-side [Please Dont Drag That String Around](https://youtu.be/JeRowz-lUUs ""), this single hit the streets fast, and sparks were flying.

That May session was a mixed bag. (Youre the) Devil in Disguise ties with Memphis, Tennesseea **Chuck Berry** classic that screams Elvisas the best of the bunch. Please Dont Drag That String Around, penned by **Otis Blackwell** and **Winfield Scott**, echoes their past hits like [Return to Sender](https://youtu.be/LZmUfUBqE-s "")Elvis glides through it, **The Jordanaires** punctuate with style, and **Boots Randolph**s sax wails. The B-side didnt chart (early pressings even botched the title as Please Dont Drag That String _Along_ on this RCA release). Tracks like Witchcraft (a '55 R&B hit for **The Spiders**), Slowly but Surely, and Ask Me (a remake of **Domenico Modugno**s Italian song Io) showed his range, but most played it safe, far from the '50s rock 'n roll blaze.

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**Transpose by -7**
**Tempo: 125 BPM**

[qpsg] [qpsg][qpsg] [qpsg][qpsg] [wadh] [wadh][wadh] [wadh][wadh] [8osf] 5 5 5 5 5 5 [5o] [8f] osf [wosf] g f [sf] 5 [8osf] - [osf] [wosf] [pdg] - [osf] 5 [8f] osf [wosf] g f [sf] 5 [8osf] - [osf] [wosf] [pdg] - [osf] 8 [qg] psg [8psg] h g [sg] 8 q psg [8psg] h g [sj] 9 [wh] oad [9h] k h [7a] [6p] [5o] l - l h s s s [8f] [fhl] 5 [fhl] 8 [fhl]5f [7dfhl] [6s] [pfjl] 0 [fjl] [6p] [sfjl]6d [7sfjl] [8s] [fhl] 5 [fhl] 8 [sfhl] 5 [7fhl] [6p] [fjl] 0 [fjl] 6 [fjl] 6 [7fjl] 8 [hl]f[5h][hl]f [8hl] [hl]f[5h][hl]f [8h] [hl]f[5f][hl][fj] [8hl] [hl][5f] [hl][7f] 6 [jl]f[0j][jl]f [6jl] [jl]f[0k][jl]f [6j] [jl]f[0h][jl]f [6jl] [jl][5f] [jl][7f] [8h] [hl]f[5f][hl]f [8hl] [fhl][5f] [hl][7df] [6f] [jl]f[0d][jl][sf] [6jl] [jl][8f] [jl][0pf] [qpsg] [qpsg][qpsg] [qpsg][qpsg] [wadh] [wadh][wadh]d[wadh][wasdh] [8os] 5 5 5 5 5 5 [5o] [8f] osf [wosf] g f [sf] 5 [8osf] - [osf] [wosf] [pdg] - [osf] 5 [8f] osf [wosf] g f [sf] 5 [8osf] - [osf] [wosf] [pdg] - [osf] 8 [qg] psg [8psg] h g [sg] 8 q psg [8psg] h g [sj] 9 [wh] oad [9h] k h [7a] [6p] [5o] l - l h s s s [8f] [fhl] 5 [fhl] 8 [fhl]5f [7dfhl] [6s] [pfjl] 0 [fjl] [6p] [sfjl]6d [7sfjl] [8s] [fhl] 5 [fhl] 8 [sfhl] 5 [7fhl] [6p] [fjl] 0 [fjl] 6 [fjl] 6 [7fjl] 8 [hl]f[5h][hl]f [8hl] [hl]f[5h][hl]f [8h] [hl]f[5f][hl][fj] [8hl] [hl][5f] [hl][7f] 6 [jl]f[0j][jl]f [6jl] [jl]f[0k][jl]f [6j] [jl]f[0h][jl]f [6jl] [jl][5f] [jl][7f] [8h] [hl]f[5f][hl]f [8hl] [fhl][5f] [hl][7df] [6f] [jl]f[0d][jl][sf] [6jl] [jl][8f] [jl][0pf] [qpsg] [qpsg][qpsg] [qpsg][qpsg] [wadh] [wadh][wadh]d[wadh][wasdh] [8os] 5 5 5 5 5 5 [5o] [8f] osf [wosf] g f [sf] 5 [8osf] - [osf] [wosf] [pdg] - [osf] 5 [8f] osf [wosf] g f [sf] 5 [8osf] - [osf] [wosf] [pdg] - [osf] 8 [qg] psg [8psg] h g [sg] 8 q psg [8psg] h g [sj] 9 [wh] oad [9h] k h [7a] [6p] [5o] l - l h s s s [8f] [fhl] 5 [fhl] 8 [fhl]5f [7dfhl] [6s] [pfjl] 0 [fjl] [6p] [sfjl]6d [7sfjl] [8s] [fhl] 5 [fhl] 8 [sfhl] 5 [7fhl] [6p] [fjl] 0 [fjl] 6 [fjl] 6 [7fjl] 8 [D5]f [D8]f [D5]f [D8]f [D5]f [8s] s 5 7 [6o] o [0p] o [6u] y 0 [6o] o [0p] s [6o]ps 5 [7o]ps 8 5 h j [8l] [5l] 7 [6h] h [0h] s[D6]g [0h] s[D6]g [D0] s s [6p] [8s] [0p] s [qpsg] [qpsg][qpsg] [qpsg][qpsg] [wadh] [wadh][wadh] [wadh][wadh] [8os] l - l h s s s [8f] [fhl] 5 [fhl] 8 [fhl]5f [7dfhl] [6s] [pfjl] 0 [fjl] [6p] [sfjl]6d [7sfjl] [8s] [fhl] 5 [fhl] 8 [sfhl] 5 [7fhl] [6ep] [fjl] 0 [fjl] [6p] [sfjl]6d [7sfjl] [8s] [fhl] 5 [fhl] 8 [sfhl] 5 [7fhl] [6ep] [fjl] 0 [fjl] [6p] [sfjl]6d [7sfjl] [8s] [fhl] 5 [fhl] 8 [sfhl] 5 [7fhl] [6ep] [fjl] 0 [fjl] [6p] [sfjl]6d [7sfjl] [8s] [fhl] 5 [fhl] 8 [sfhl] 5 [7fhl] [6p] [fjl] 0 [fjl] 6 [fjl] 6 [8fjl] 0 [qpsg] [qpsg][qpsg] [qpsg][qpsg] [wadh] [wadh][wadh] [wadh][wadh] [8tosf]

Based on piano tutorial by [**W Piano**](https://youtu.be/UdQROjjf56I "")

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What couldve been? Imagine an LP album: Side 1 opens with the brassy [Witchcraft](https://youtu.be/Ul9JMqb8vI4 ""), rolls through [Slowly but Surely](https://youtu.be/rIB3xRqW9IA ""), and the soulful [It Hurts Me](https://youtu.be/ha76pJId5T0 ""), then cruises down [(Its A) Long Lonely Highway](https://youtu.be/Smf-sedgtB8 ""). Side 2 unleashes [(Youre the) Devil in Disguise](https://youtu.be/wFWGQnEtB_M ""), the tender [Ask Me](https://youtu.be/8stcR4DFUZo ""), and hits hard with [Memphis, Tennessee](https://youtu.be/GFH5s2LlNto ""). The album would have been a worthy contender against the British Invasion, except his manager, **Colonel Tom Parker**, had other plans: his soundtrack-first machine churned out _Fun in Acapulco_ (1963), _Kissin' Cousins_ (1964), and _Roustabout_ (1964), sidelining studio gold. No album materialized, and the May studio tracks were scattered.

The times were shifting. **John Lennon**, on BBCs _Juke Box Jury_ in June, cheekily panned every record he heard, Elvis included. He adored Elvis' early cuts but saw (Youre the) Devil in Disguise as a throwback, not a torchbearer. Wheres the rock n' roll? 1963s formula, set by 1961, was cracking. **The Beatles** 1964 American invasion would prove it, dethroning Elvis as he drifted deeper into soundtrack land. **Johnny Rivers** even swooped in, turning Memphis, Tennessee into his own hit that year after hearing Elvis unreleased version. What Elvis saw as a proud share, set for release, Rivers snatched the hit.

Elvis' fire? It dimmed from 62 to 67, choked by management and weak material. Yet glimmers broke through, from [Suspicion](https://youtu.be/spEvNvRbpOI "") (62), [Viva Las Vegas](https://youtu.be/9MO1KyNUOIs "") (63), and the [_How Great Thou Art_](https://youtu.be/nKOT6qHjJaU?list=OLAK5uy_kY-Xn-N4Kq5ZnqHhisQ4PgY9PPLNIbk80 "") gospel album ('66), to [Guitar Man](https://youtu.be/RGniRTwuOVM "") ('67). In 63, the May sessions were a warning: a call for a change of habit that shouldve come earlier. (Youre the) Devil in Disguise stood tall, a rock n roll record in a year a-drift. Weeks after cutting it, Elvis met fiery actress **Ann-Margret**; you can just imagine him singing it to her with a sly grin. It took 1968s TV special to reignite the blaze, but in 63, we got the devil we knew... and its still one hell of a hit.